1971 Washington Senators season

1971 Washington Senators
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1961)
Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
RFK Stadium (since 1961)
Washington, D.C. (since 1961)
Other information
Owner(s)	Bob Short
Manager(s)	Ted Williams
Local television	WTOP (Warner Wolf, Ray Scott, Tony Roberts)
Local radio	WWDC (FM) (Ron Menchine, Tony Roberts)
< Previous season Next season

The 1971 Washington Senators season involved the Senators finishing fifth in the American League East with a record of 63 wins and 96 losses. This was the Senators' 11th and last season in Washington, D.C., as they moved to Arlington, Texas the following season, becoming the Texas Rangers. The move would leave Washington without a Major League Baseball team until the Montreal Expos of the National League relocated there in 2005, becoming the current Washington Nationals.

Offseason

October 9, 1970: Ed Brinkman, Aurelio Rodríguez, Joe Coleman, and Jim Hannan were traded by the Senators to the Detroit Tigers for Denny McLain, Elliott Maddox, Norm McRae, and Don Wert.^[1]
November 3, 1970: Greg Goossen and Gene Martin were traded by the Senators to the Philadelphia Phillies for Curt Flood and a player to be named. The Phillies completed the deal by sending Jeff Terpko to the Senators on April 10, 1971.^[2]
November 30, 1970: Joe Foy was drafted by the Washington Senators from the New York Mets in the 1970 rule 5 draft.^[3]
March 29, 1971: Ed Stroud was traded by the Senators to the Chicago White Sox for Tommy McCraw.^[4]

Regular season

The acquisition of former Cy Young Award winner Denny McLain would not pay dividends for the franchise. Amid constant run-ins with no-nonsense Washington manager Ted Williams, Denny McLain lost 22 games in 1971.^[5]

Relocation to Texas

By the end of the 1970 season, Senators owner Bob Short had issued an ultimatum: unless someone was willing to buy the Senators for $12 million, he would not renew his lease at RFK Stadium and move elsewhere. Several parties offered to buy the team, but all fell short of Short's asking price.

Short was especially receptive to an offer from Arlington mayor Tom Vandergriff, who had been trying to get a major league team to play in the Metroplex for over a decade. Years earlier, Charlie Finley, the owner of the Kansas City Athletics, sought to move his team to Dallas, but the idea was rebuffed by the other AL team owners.

Arlington's hole card was Turnpike Stadium, a 10,000-seat park which had been built in 1965 to house the AA Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs of the Texas League. However, it had been built to major league specifications. It was also located in a natural bowl; only minor excavations would be necessary to expand the park to major-league size.

After Vandergriff offered a multimillion-dollar up-front payment, Short finally decided to pull up stakes and move. On September 20, 1971, he got his wish, receiving approval from AL owners to move the franchise to Arlington for the 1972 season.

Washington fans were outraged, leaving public relations director Ted Rodgers with the unenviable task of putting a positive spin on such events as fans unfurling a giant banner that contained Short's name, preceded by a popular four-letter invective. A photo of the banner appeared on the front page of a DC newspaper the following day.

Fan enmity came to a head in the team's last game in Washington, on September 30. Thousands of fans simply walked in without paying because the security guards left early in the game, swelling the paid attendance of 14,460 to around 25,000. The Senators led 7-5 with two outs in the top of the ninth. Just then, fans poured onto the field. A teenager scooped up first base and ran away. With no security guards in sight, the game was forfeited to the Yankees, 9-0.

Opening Day starters

Season standings

AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Baltimore Orioles	101	57	0.639	—	53–24	48–33
Detroit Tigers	91	71	0.562	12	54–27	37–44
Boston Red Sox	85	77	0.525	18	47–33	38–44
New York Yankees	82	80	0.506	21	44–37	38–43
Washington Senators	63	96	0.396	38½	35–46	28–50
Cleveland Indians	60	102	0.370	43	29–52	31–50

Record vs. opponents

1971 American League Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	WSH
Baltimore	—	9–9	7–5	8–4	13–5	8–10	6–5	9–3	10–2	11–7	7–4	13–3
Boston	9–9	—	6–6	10–2	11–7	12–6	1–11	6–6	8–4	7–11	3–9	12–6
California	5–7	6–6	—	8–10	8–4	6–6	8–10	6–12	12–6	6–6	7–11	4–8
Chicago	4–8	2–10	10–8	—	3–9	7–5	9–9	11–7	7–11	5–7	11–7	10–2
Cleveland	5–13	7–11	4–8	9–3	—	6–12	2–10	4–8	4–8	8–10	4–8	7–11
Detroit	10–8	6–12	6–6	5–7	12–6	—	8–4	10–2	6–6	10–8	4–8	14–4
Kansas City	5–6	11–1	10–8	9–9	10–2	4–8	—	8–10	9–9	5–7	5–13	9–3
Milwaukee	3–9	6–6	12–6	7–11	8–4	2–10	10–8	—	10–7	2–10	3–15	6–6
Minnesota	2–10	4–8	6–12	11–7	8–4	6–6	9–9	7–10	—	8–4	8–10	5–6
New York	7–11	11–7	6–6	7–5	10–8	8–10	7–5	10–2	4–8	—	5–7	7–11
Oakland	4–7	9–3	11–7	7–11	8–4	8–4	13–5	15–3	10–8	7–5	—	9–3
Washington	3–13	6–12	8–4	2–10	11–7	4–14	3–9	6–6	6–5	11–7	3–9	—

Notable transactions

May 8, 1971: Darold Knowles and Mike Epstein were traded by the Senators to the Oakland Athletics for Frank Fernández, Don Mincher, Paul Lindblad and cash.^[7]
June 8, 1971: 1971 Major League Baseball Draft
- Stan Thomas was drafted by the Senators in the 27th round.^[8]
- Mike Cubbage was drafted by the Senators in the 2nd round of the Secondary Phase.^[9]
July 16, 1971: Joe Foy was released by the Washington Senators.^[10]
September 27, 1971: Jim French was released by the Senators.^[11]

Roster

1971 Washington Senators

Roster

Pitchers

27 Dick Bosman

18 Pete Broberg

23 Jackie Brown

29 Casey Cox

13 Bill Gogolewski

31 Joe Grzenda

26 Gerry Janeski

32 Darold Knowles

32 Paul Lindblad

17 Denny McLain

28 Horacio Piña

19 Denny Riddleberger

16 Jim Shellenback

24 Mike Thompson

Catchers

8 Dick Billings

5 Paul Casanova

10 Bill Fahey

10 Jim French

20 Rick Stelmaszek

Infielders

7 Bernie Allen

1 Tim Cullen

6 Mike Epstein

14 Joe Foy

11 Toby Harrah

14 Jim Mason

6 Don Mincher

15 Dave Nelson

15,21 Tom Ragland

2 Len Randle

2 Don Wert

Outfielders

4 Larry Biittner

20 Jeff Burroughs

25 Frank Fernández

21 Curt Flood

33 Frank Howard

37 Elliott Maddox

3 Tommy McCraw

35 Richie Scheinblum

30 Del Unser

Manager

9 Ted Williams

Coaches

40 Joe Camacho

42 Nellie Fox

41 Sid Hudson

43 George Susce

44 Wayne Terwilliger

45 Al Zarilla

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
3B	Nelson, DaveDave Nelson	85	329	92	.280	5	33
RF	Biittner, LarryLarry Biittner	66	171	44	.257	0	16

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Maddox, ElliottElliott Maddox	128	258	56	.217	1	18
McCraw, TommyTommy McCraw	122	207	44	.213	7	25
Wert, DonDon Wert	20	40	2	.050	0	2
Flood, CurtCurt Flood	13	35	7	.200	0	2
Mason, JimJim Mason	3	9	3	.333	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Bosman, DickDick Bosman	35	236.2	12	16	3.73	113
McLain, DennyDenny McLain	33	216.2	10	22	4.28	103
Broberg, PetePete Broberg	18	124.2	5	9	3.47	89

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Cox, CaseyCasey Cox	54	124.1	5	7	3.98	43
Gogolewski, BillBill Gogolewski	27	124.1	6	5	2.75	70
Janeski, GerryGerry Janeski	23	61.2	1	5	4.96	19
Brown, JackieJackie Brown	14	47	3	4	5.94	21

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Piña, HoracioHoracio Piña	56	1	1	2	3.59	38
Grzenda, JoeJoe Grzenda	46	5	2	5	1.92	56
Knowles, DaroldDarold Knowles	12	2	2	2	3.52	16

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Denver Bears	American Association	Del Wilber
AA	Pittsfield Senators	Eastern League	Joe Klein
A	Burlington Senators	Carolina League	Whitey Kurowski
A	Anderson Senators	Western Carolinas League	Frank Gable and Bill Haywood
A-Short Season	Geneva Senators	New York–Penn League	Frank Gable

Notes

References

Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-17-6.
1971 Washington Senators team page at Baseball Reference
1971 Washington Senators team page at www.baseball-almanac.com

1971 MLB season by team

AL East

AL West

NL East

NL West

Texas Rangers

Formerly the Washington Senators
Based in Arlington, Texas (Dallas–Ft. Worth)

Franchise

Ballparks

Griffith Stadium RFK Stadium Arlington Stadium Globe Life Park in Arlington New Rangers Ballpark

Spring training	Pompano Beach Municipal Stadium Ranger Stadium Surprise Stadium

Culture and lore

Rivalries

Houston Astros

Retired numbers

Key personnel

Owners: Ray Davis & Bob R. Simpson
General Manager: Jon Daniels
Manager: Jeff Banister

Texas Rangers
Hall of Fame

Wild card berths (1)

2012

American League
West Division titles (6)

American League
championships (2)

2010
2011

Minor league affiliates

Seasons (56)

1960s	1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969

1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/25/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.